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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. ground — crushed
  5. file — a tool
  6. ground — the earth
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. firm — steady
  10. bore — to drill
  11. firm — a company
  12. ball — a great time
  13. firm — decided
  14. ground — a position
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. file — a document
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — temperature
  20. ball — a dance
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. file — a line of people
  23. pitch — completely
  24. bore — to tire

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com